


Skin Deep

by theunknownfate



Category: Strange Magic (2015)
Genre: F/M, Kink Meme, Prompt Fill, Touching, molting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 08:26:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3522335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theunknownfate/pseuds/theunknownfate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for this prompt on the <a>Strange Magic kinkmeme</a>: <i> There’s a tumblr fic out there about how Bog molts and how all the changes upset him until Marianne digs the new skin. How about one where he is finally comfortable with her being there and she gets to stay and help ease the old skin off and help break in the new one?</i></p>
<p><i></i> There was already a sweet, funny fill, but I kept thinking about it, so I did one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Skin Deep

The surprise visit after almost two weeks absence had seemed like a good idea. The spring storms had kept everyone in the Fairy Kingdom inside until the air was clear enough to fly in. Marianne had gotten away at her first chance and crept into the castle with the help of the goblin guards. They had looked relieved to see her. Bog must’ve been on a real tirade lately. She knew he had to keep his subjects in line because the Dark Forest was a wild place, and it was thanks to his control that all the worst stories about goblins were the old stories from long ago. Since he had been king, there had been no raids into elf villages or Wild Hunts or any of the things little fairies had been told would get them if they didn’t behave. She hadn’t told Bog about any of those. She had a feeling he would enjoy being thought of as a boogieman. 

She heard his voice before she got to the throne room and flew up higher to the ceiling so no one would see her. She found a place where she could see and found him confronting an elderly hob and what looked like a spriggan bodyguard. Despite herself, she felt a thrill of fear. The spriggan’s eyes flitted up to where she was, and she shrank back, glad of the shadows. Bog was doing his whole ‘don’t make me destroy you’ routine and it seemed to be working on the hob. It got polite in a hurry after that and whatever business they had was wrapped up. The two bowed, which Bog ignored, and left. Once he heard the door shut, Bog dropped into his throne with a creaky noise and rubbed his forehead like it ached. Poor guy. He looked worn out and he faded into the background a little too well. 

Marianne flew down gently and crept towards the throne. As eager as she was to get to him, it was always fun to ambush him when she could. It did seem like he was too tired and distracted to notice her. She almost laughed and it must’ve been that little huff of breath that got his attention because he reacted in a second, snarling and swinging the staff at the sound. 

“Whoa!” she had to dodge back into the air and quickly flapped out of reach. He froze, tilting his head, but not looking directly at her.

“Marianne?” he asked.

“Um. Yeah!” she landed again. “I’m guess you’ve had as much fun during these storms as I have, huh?” He still wasn’t looking exactly at her and made an irritated shrug and harumph before turning back towards the throne. Marianne felt her wings droop. He didn’t seem glad to see her. Maybe she should’ve let him know she was coming. She wasn’t sure what to say now. He sat down with another creak, shrinking back into partial shadow. Honesty had always been the best route, even if it was the hardest, so she walked over. He was rubbing his face again and also seemed to be searching for words. 

“I couldn’t wait to see you,” she blurted out. 

“I’m glad you came,” he said at the same moment. Marianne chuckled and she saw him smile a little too. She reached out to him, but he didn’t reach back. That hurt her feelings, but she took his hand anyway. He actually jumped when she touched him. He felt dry and brittle under her fingers. Two weeks was way too long to be away from him if he was going to fall apart this badly. His fingers curled around hers though and he pulled her into his lap with a hungry mumble. 

“That’s better,” she teased him. “That’s the welcome I was hoping for.” He mumbled something else, kissing her hair until he found her ear. “Why so cranky?” she had to ask. “You’re even more on edge than usual, and as much as I love you, you look awful.”

“It’s nothing,” he muttered. 

“It’s something,” she insisted. “Did you miss me that badly or has it been as miserable here as it as at home?”

“I missed you,” he said. She waited for more. Time ticked by for a few moments and she poked him in the side. It didn’t work for once. He didn't flinch at all.

“Bog…” she began and he finally made a furious sound down in his throat. His free hand made a clawing gesture before he let it fall back on the armrest. 

“I can’t see,” he said, frustration and resignation in equal measure. “That’s the worst part. And I have to pretend I CAN, which is DIFFICULT when-“

“Wait, what?” She cupped his face, which he clearly didn’t see coming because it startled him. “Bog!” His eyes were clouded over. They looked as gray and dead as the rest of him. “What happened to you? What can we do? I mean, can, can we fix it? How long has this- what happened?”

She was babbling and he couldn’t get a word in and his already frayed temper split right down the middle. He snarled something and shoved the staff in her general direction, pushing her and it off his lap. He used both hands to claw at his face. Marianne squeaked. There wasn’t any other word for the noise she made. He would’ve laughed if it didn’t itch, didn’t burn, didn’t squeeze into his very eye sockets. 

“Don’t!” she was begging him. “You’ll hurt yourself! You’ll-“ And of course, she was right. It wasn’t loose enough to come off easily yet, but he couldn’t stand not to. It was worse than bites or poxes or scabs. It had to come off, even if it did hurt. Finally, the tip of one nail got under an edge and he was able to pry a piece of it up. It stung, and he could hear Marianne suck in a breath as he grimaced and tugged until the shell peeled off his eye. It took a strip off his nose and part of his cheekbone too, but then it was off, and he was blinking in the suddenly much brighter light. 

Marianne was shocked quiet. She had thought he had lost his mind when he started pulling off his own face, but underneath, his eye was bluer than ever, and the exposed patch was smooth and shiny. 

“You-“ she began and it occurred to him how it must look. He turned away quickly, leaving her to blink at the crusted over side of his fade. “Oh, don’t!” She ducked around to the other side too. “You shed your skin. That’s-“

“Disgusting. I know!” He tried to turn around again and flicked the dead skin off his fingers. It took a few tries. On his blind side, it was easy to get close enough to get her arms around him. 

“It’s not!” she said, hugging him. “It just scared me to see you claw at your own eyes like that.” She ran a fingertip over the new skin under his eye and he froze. It felt smooth as new leather and she wondered if it was more sensitive now than when it had hardened. She pressed a kiss to it just in case. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Fairies don’t do this,” he grumbled. “Most goblins don’t. It’s-“

“Don’t you dare say hideous,” she told him. 

“It’s not _pleasant_ then,” he said it mockingly, then sighed. “It’s miserable.” He scratched at his face again, wincing as his nails scraped over the new skin. 

“Wait, wait!’ she grabbed his hands and pulled them away. “Here. Let me try.”

“You don’t want to touch this,” he tried to squirm away, but ended up freezing again when her careful little fingers slid under the edge of his eyebrow and began to work it up. Little dry flakes of it fell down as she moved it, but he could feel her fingers on the moister layer underneath. She was being so gentle, working it loose by millimeters, ready to stop as soon as he flinched. He did make a few interesting faces, but the noises he made all sounded more relieved than anything. 

Soon she had all of her fingers underneath, wiggling them side to side to separate the layers. Every now and she would hear a crunch or a pop that made her stop, but he always froze with her and didn’t relax until she started up again. 

“Ok,” she said after a little more maneuvering. His whole forehead shifted. “I think I can pull this whole section up and off…”

“Do it,” he said at once. She whispered one more ok and carefully lifted. Bog hissed softly as the whole top of his head came loose. Marianne pulled it straight up, only leaving a a few shreds clinging. Bog sagged with relief and then melted completely when Marianne ran her hands over the soft new ridges on his scalp. He was as dark and glossy as a buckeye and she kissed over it to make him shiver. 

“Better?” she whispered against it. He wrapped his fingers around her arms. 

“So much,” he groaned. She grinned and ran her nails down from his forehead to catch on the edge of old skin above his other eye. He leaned into, helpless. All his bad temper was forgotten. He had gone from being a surly bundle of brittleness to a blissful puddle of putty. It was like the old cracked skin was all that was keeping him upright and angry, and with every piece he lost, he became more serene. It was still a little horrible to uncover his other eye. It felt like she was pulling the lens right off it, but he blinked with relief when it was finally removed. 

She peeled it downwards over his face and couldn’t resist kissing his newly uncovered lips. He hissed again at the first touch and she stopped. 

“Too tender?” she asked. His eyes were shut, but he shook his head. There were still a few shreds of old skin clinging to his nose and eyebrows. She plucked them off and pressed light kisses over his whole face. He swayed into her, having to hunch his shoulders to do it. That made his whole back crackle and he grumbled and arched like an angry cat. Marianne slid her hands up to the back of his neck and stroked over it until she felt the split piece between his wings. 

She pulled him forward to get a better look and saw the gleam of new skin under the crack. She got a grip on either side and tugged, but nothing happened. She put a little more pressure on and felt a segment give. Bog sucked in a breath and his fingers dug into her legs. 

“Hurt?” she asked. 

“Harder.” His voice was a rasp that went straight to her gut. She pushed on his shoulders and he sank to his knees in front of her. There were more popping sounds from his joints. He was still clutching her legs and she could hear his breathing huff. She had to swallow hard to step away from him and walk around to face his back. He hung his head and braced himself with his arms. Marianne dug her fingers back into the split, eased her knee into his back for leverage, and pulled. 

It sounded like bones breaking, like she was wrenching his shoulder blades out as the carapace cracked open. The new skin pulsed and seemed to swell right away at the first sign of more room. She got a better grip and pushed this time, forcing the two halves apart. The crunch was sickening, and Bog’s whole body hitched. Marianne gritted her teeth and swung her elbows in to hold the shell open wider. She slid her hands in deeper, not as gently as before, skating them out over his shoulders.

The soft skin was warm and slick under her palms and quivered as it separated from the shell. He arched again. The sound he made might have started out as her name, but trailed off into a blissful cry. She was breathing hard from the effort and from the unexpected warmth turning in her stomach. His wings pulled free and the whole segment finally broke open and fell away. Marianne took a moment to run her hands over the exposed patch. His back had always been sensitive, and now every touch made him twist and mewl. 

She kissed her way down his back to the ragged edge of the next piece and hooked her fingers under it. It got easier with the smaller segments and the only thing more satisfying than seeing the old, gray pieces come off was watching the effect it had on him. She ended up gasping with him every time a large piece came free and sighing with him when she could stroke over the new skin. 

She got his back stripped bare and was kneeling behind him to peel the strips down his legs when he straightened up and leaned back against her. She couldn’t resist wrapping arms around him and nuzzling into his back. His front armor was still intact, but she could feel how loose it was getting from all his stretching and straining. She scooted around to the front of him without taking her hands off. The segments over his torso were easy to get her fingertips under. He hissed and arched when she gave it a tug. 

The whole thing started to come off in one piece and she had a sudden thought of keeping it for when his real torso wasn’t available, but the groan he made distracted her from even that. It echoed in the empty room and she looked around quickly to make sure it was still empty. She had forgotten they were still in the throne room. All the doors were still closed, so she sent back to work. He leaned back as she pulled forward and it came off in her hands, leaving him exposed. 

“All shiny and new,” she teased, trailing a hand over him. He shuddered and sank back around her. Something possessive and protective sparked in the heat of her stomach to have him even temporarily vulnerable. She spread her wings wide to keep anyone else from seeing him him this way. She eased him backwards to sink back to the throne. He still clung to her and she stepped in between his spread knees to bend over him. She kept her wings out and looked over her shoulder for any interruption. There was still nothing, so she slipped into his lap as gently as possible to hold him. She didn’t know how long his skin would stay so supple and wanted to feel it and let him feel her with it as much as possible. And even more selfishly, having him loll underneath her, shivering at every touch was maybe the second most beautiful thing she had ever seen him do. Hopefully, if no more business came through the door, she would get to see the first before long.


End file.
